scholarly journals Investigating knowledge and use of technical vocabulary in Traditional Chinese Medicine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Cailing Lu
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Word List ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Loan Words ◽  
Technical Vocabulary ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Word Lists ◽  
Linguistic Backgrounds

<p>This research investigates the nature of vocabulary, especially technical vocabulary, in the specialized discipline of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is an important area of higher education. It consists of three linked studies in correspondence to three research aims using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Study 1 addressed the questions of what kinds of words constitute TCM lexis given its origin, and what is the vocabulary load of English-medium texts in this discipline. To answer these questions, a series of lexical analyses was conducted on three corpora: theory-based and practice-based textbook corpora and a journal article corpus, which reflect the main areas of reading for TCM students. The results showed that while high, mid and low-frequency vocabulary make up a fairly large proportion of these texts, other lexical items such as abbreviations, loan words, medical words, proper nouns, and compounds also feature in them, but in differing proportions depending on the text types. Further, this study found that a large vocabulary of 13,000 word families plus four supplementary lists and two TCM-specific lists is needed. This is the point which most TCM learners can read TCM textbooks and journal articles without vocabulary being a handicap.  Study 2 looked more closely at the technical vocabulary in TCM. The nature of technical vocabulary was explored and TCM technical word lists of both single and multiword units were developed for learners and teachers in this discipline. A total of 2,778 word types were selected for the TCM technical word list based on the criteria of relative keyness in the TCM Corpora compared to a general written English corpus, meaningfulness, and frequency. The list provided 36.65% coverage of the corpora from which it was developed. In addition, a TCM technical lexical bundle list with 898 bundles was developed to supplement the technical word list. The findings suggested that lexical bundles play an essential role in creating meaning and structure of TCM discourse. Thus, they should be regarded as a basic linguistic construct since some technical vocabulary needs to be seen in bundles rather than in single words.  The last study bridged the gap between corpus-based word lists and the actual ESP vocabulary learning context by way of investigating learners’ understanding of the technical words from the technical word list generated from the second study. Results suggested that learners faced different challenges in technical vocabulary learning depending on their linguistic backgrounds. Specifically, Chinese learners had great difficulty with technical words from the lower-frequency bands of BNC/COCA word lists, while Western learners encountered challenges with loan words borrowed from Chinese. As a result, a certain divergence between the Western and Chinese TCM learners’ understanding of technical words was manifested. These findings indicate that a pedagogically useful word list should be adaptable to learners from different linguistic backgrounds.  Drawing on these findings, this thesis also provides methodological, theoretical, and pedagogical implications so that the TCM learners can gain better support in their specialized English vocabulary learning. They can also enable the teachers and course designers to better scaffold their students’ vocabulary development.</p>

scholarly journals Investigating knowledge and use of technical vocabulary in Traditional Chinese Medicine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Cailing Lu
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Word List ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Loan Words ◽  
Technical Vocabulary ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Word Lists ◽  
Linguistic Backgrounds

<p>This research investigates the nature of vocabulary, especially technical vocabulary, in the specialized discipline of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is an important area of higher education. It consists of three linked studies in correspondence to three research aims using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Study 1 addressed the questions of what kinds of words constitute TCM lexis given its origin, and what is the vocabulary load of English-medium texts in this discipline. To answer these questions, a series of lexical analyses was conducted on three corpora: theory-based and practice-based textbook corpora and a journal article corpus, which reflect the main areas of reading for TCM students. The results showed that while high, mid and low-frequency vocabulary make up a fairly large proportion of these texts, other lexical items such as abbreviations, loan words, medical words, proper nouns, and compounds also feature in them, but in differing proportions depending on the text types. Further, this study found that a large vocabulary of 13,000 word families plus four supplementary lists and two TCM-specific lists is needed. This is the point which most TCM learners can read TCM textbooks and journal articles without vocabulary being a handicap.  Study 2 looked more closely at the technical vocabulary in TCM. The nature of technical vocabulary was explored and TCM technical word lists of both single and multiword units were developed for learners and teachers in this discipline. A total of 2,778 word types were selected for the TCM technical word list based on the criteria of relative keyness in the TCM Corpora compared to a general written English corpus, meaningfulness, and frequency. The list provided 36.65% coverage of the corpora from which it was developed. In addition, a TCM technical lexical bundle list with 898 bundles was developed to supplement the technical word list. The findings suggested that lexical bundles play an essential role in creating meaning and structure of TCM discourse. Thus, they should be regarded as a basic linguistic construct since some technical vocabulary needs to be seen in bundles rather than in single words.  The last study bridged the gap between corpus-based word lists and the actual ESP vocabulary learning context by way of investigating learners’ understanding of the technical words from the technical word list generated from the second study. Results suggested that learners faced different challenges in technical vocabulary learning depending on their linguistic backgrounds. Specifically, Chinese learners had great difficulty with technical words from the lower-frequency bands of BNC/COCA word lists, while Western learners encountered challenges with loan words borrowed from Chinese. As a result, a certain divergence between the Western and Chinese TCM learners’ understanding of technical words was manifested. These findings indicate that a pedagogically useful word list should be adaptable to learners from different linguistic backgrounds.  Drawing on these findings, this thesis also provides methodological, theoretical, and pedagogical implications so that the TCM learners can gain better support in their specialized English vocabulary learning. They can also enable the teachers and course designers to better scaffold their students’ vocabulary development.</p>

scholarly journals Exploring learners’ understanding of technical vocabulary in Traditional Chinese Medicine

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-101
Author(s):  
Cailing Lu ◽  
Frank Boers ◽  
Averil Coxhead
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Word List ◽  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Word Associations ◽  
Technical Vocabulary ◽  
Technical Terms ◽  
The Way

This study explores English for specific purposes learners’ understanding of technical words in a previously-developed technical word list in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The principal aim was to estimate what kind of technical terms pose problems to TCM learners and might therefore merit special attention in instruction. Of particular interest was the question whether there is a divergence in the understanding of technical vocabulary in TCM between Chinese and Western background learners. To achieve these aims, a combination of word association tasks and retrospective interviews was implemented with 11 Chinese and 10 Western background TCM learners. The data showed that both Chinese and Western learners encountered certain difficulties in understanding technical vocabulary in their study. However, their sources of difficulty were different. Comparisons of typical word associations between Chinese and Western learners indicated that there was a degree of divergence in the way these two participant groups understood TCM terms.

Vocabulary in Traditional Chinese Medicine

2019 ◽  
Vol 171 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-61
Author(s):  
Cailing Lu ◽  
Averil Coxhead
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
American English ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Loan Words ◽  
Word Families ◽  
Proper Nouns ◽  
Word Lists

Abstract This article reports on a corpus-based study of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) vocabulary. It first provides a vocabulary profile of English-medium Traditional Chinese Medicine textbooks and journal articles using Nation’s (2012) British National Corpus/Corpus of Contemporary American English (BNC/COCA 25,000) frequency word lists and supplementary word lists of proper nouns, abbreviations, and compounds. Then, it categorizes items outside Nation’s BNC/COCA into Chinese loan words (e.g., qi, yang) and medical lexis (e.g., cinnamomi, rehmanniae), which cover 5.93% of the TCM Corpora in total. The next analysis focuses on Schmitt and Schmitt’s (2014) high, mid, low-frequency vocabulary framework and how it differs from Western medicine. Finally, a vocabulary load analysis shows that to reach 98%, 13,000 word families plus four supplementary lists and two TCM-specific lists are needed. Together, these analyses provide us with a rounded picture of TCM vocabulary. Implications for pedagogy and suggestions for future research follow.

scholarly journals Alternative Treatment for Asthma: Case Study of Success of Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment of Children from Urban Areas with Different Levels of Environmental Pollution

ISRN Allergy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Kopnina
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Children With Asthma ◽  
Chinese Medicine Treatment ◽  
Dutch Children ◽  
Asthma Case ◽  
Different Levels

The present study examined efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment in Dutch children with asthma in areas with differing air pollution. The study results indicate that TCM treatment of children living in more polluted urban area is less successful then that of children living in cleaner air area.

Efficacy of different TCM treatment techniques combined with standardized step therapy for cancer pain: A network.

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e23131-e23131
Author(s):  
Peng Lv ◽  
Ya Li ◽  
Zhenzhu Zhang ◽  
Fengqin Shi ◽  
Li Hou
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Cancer Pain ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
External Application ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Treatment Techniques ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Step Therapy

e23131 Background: Comparative study results between the efficacies of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapy with Western medicine therapy in the treatment of cancer pain remain controversial. We use the standardized step treatment as a common control to compare the effectiveness of different Chinese medical methods combined with standardized step therapy for cancer pain using a network meta-analysis. Methods: Randomized controlled trials of the effectiveness of various Chinese medical methods and standardized ladder treatments in PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EmBase, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, and Wan-Fang databases were searched. Stata14.0 and WinBUGS1.4.3 software were used for statistical analysis. Risk ratio(RR) with their 95% confidence interval were estimated as effect size between treatments. Results: Seventy RCTs were included, a total of 6,936 patients with cancer pain, involving five treatments.The results of network meta-analysis showed that there were significant statistical differences between the four Chinese medical methods combined with standardized step treatment and simple standardized step treatment: Chinese medicine orally combined with standardized step treatment vs simple standardized step treatment: RR = 2.60, 95% CI (2.09, 3.30); Chinese medicine external application combined with standardized ladder treatment vs simple standardized ladder treatment: RR = 2.83, 95% CI (2.31, 3.50); acupuncture physiotherapy combined with standardized ladder treatment vs simple standardized ladder treatment: RR = 3.56, 95% CI (1.92, 7.26); Chinese medicine injection combined with standardized ladder treatment vs simple standardized ladder treatment: RR = 2.22, 95% CI (1.63, 3.05). Conclusions: There are significant statistical differences between different Chinese medical methods combined with standardized step treatment and simple standardized step treatment. For patients with cancer pain, standardized step therapy combined with acupuncture physiotherapy or external application of traditional Chinese medicine can be preferred. Due to the lack of existing research, the conclusions of the study need to be confirmed by high quality RCT.

scholarly journals Formulation of traditional Chinese medicine and its application on intestinal flora of constipated rats

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sihan Li ◽  
Youcheng He ◽  
Haiou Zhang ◽  
Rong Zheng ◽  
Ruoying Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Intestinal Flora ◽  
Intestinal Bacteria ◽  
Symbiotic Relationships ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Rrna Sequencing ◽  
Pcr Technology

AbstractIn this study, the self-extracted constipation treatment of traditional Chinese medicine extracts was applied to constipated rats. To explore the mechanism and role of the Chinese medicine for the treatment of constipation, the 16S rRNA sequencing and qRT-PCR technology were used to analyze the intestinal flora. We found that the relative abundance of Firmicutes with constipation was significantly higher accounted for 86.7%, while the gut microbiota was significantly changed after taking a certain dose of Chinese medicine, greatly increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus accounted for 23.1%, enhanced the symbiotic relationships of Lactobacillus with other intestinal flora. The total copies of intestinal bacteria in the constipated rats decreased after taking the traditional Chinese medicine. Finally, this study results provides a theoretical basis for the treatment and understand the mechanism and effect of traditional Chinese medicine on rate constipation.

scholarly journals Clinical characteristics analysis of 9 Cases COVID-19 patients receiving integrated Traditional Chinese and Western medicine: a retrospective study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengjian Cao ◽  
Fang Zhang ◽  
Liuying Li ◽  
Maoli Guo ◽  
Minggang Yin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retrospective Study ◽  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Antiviral Drug ◽  
Curative Effect ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Characteristics Analysis ◽  
Medicine Prescription ◽  
Chinese Medicine Prescription

Abstract Background Recently, WHO has classified COVID-19 as a global pandemic disease, and it is still spreading rapidly around the world, but no specific medicine or vaccine for 2019-nCov has been developed so far. At present, the epidemic situation in China has been basically controlled. Methods Here we report 9 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the First People's Hospital of Zigong City, Zigong, China. In addition to antiviral drug treatment and other supportive treatment, all of them received traditional Chinese medicine prescription according to the different conditions of each patient, and we collected the clinical data of the 9 patients and analyzed the outcome as a retrospective study. Results The curative effect is very significant, all the patients have been discharged from the hospital, and the shortest course of treatment is only 12 days. Conclusions Combined with the fact that other parts of China use Traditional Chinese Medicine, including Wuhan Cabin Hospital, we speculate that Chinese medicine plays an encouraging role in this process and may be an adjuvant therapy of COVID-19, which may bring some reference to the treatment of COVID-19 worldwide, in spite of the efficacy and definite conclusions still need further study.

The Influence of Pillow Material on Body Distribution and Sleeping Comfort in Supine Position

2012 ◽  
Vol 201-202 ◽  
pp. 30-33
Author(s):  
Li Ming Shen ◽  
Jian Jun Hou ◽  
Yu Ding Zhu ◽  
Jie Song
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Pressure Distribution ◽  
Supine Position ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Reference Value ◽  
Chemical Fiber ◽  
Body Distribution ◽  
Study Results

The material of pillow has influenced on body pressure distribution and human comfort. This paper studied the relationship between the characteristic of pillow materials and sleeping comfort in supine position through head, neck, back pressure distribution system and subjective evaluation on ergonomics methods. This paper selected chemical fiber, buckwheat, latex, memory foam, inflatable cushion, traditional Chinese medicine / tea and pearl cotton for experimental materials. The results showed that the pillows with memory foam and latex was better in pressure distribution and subjective evaluation. The pillow with traditional Chinese medicine / tea and inflatable cushion had lower elasticity and poorer sleeping comfort. The buckwheat pillow can relieve neck fatigue. This study results have important reference value to the material of pillow and comfort pillow design.

scholarly journals Formulation of traditional Chinese medicine and its application on intestinal flora of constipated rats

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minghan Huang ◽  
Sihan Li ◽  
Youcheng He ◽  
Haiou Zhang ◽  
Ruoying Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Intestinal Flora ◽  
Intestinal Bacteria ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Symbiotic Relationships ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Abundance And Diversity

Abstract In this study, the self-extracted constipation treatment of traditional Chinese medicine extracts was applied to constipated rats. To explore the mechanism and role of the Chinese medicine for the treatment of constipation, the 16S rRNA sequencing and qRT-PCR technology were used to analyze the abundance and diversity of intestinal flora in rats. We found that the relative abundance of Firmicutes in the intestinal flora of rats with constipation was significantly higher than that in the control group, and the Bacteroides was significantly lower than that in the control group, while the relative abundance of Firmicutes was significantly changed after taking a certain dose of Chinese medicine, and reduced the relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae, and greatly increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus, enhanced the symbiotic relationships of Lactobacillus with other intestinal flora. There was no significant difference in the total copies of intestinal bacteria between the constipated rats and the control group. The total copies of intestinal bacteria in the constipated rats decreased after taking the traditional Chinese medicine. Finally, this study results provides a theoretical basis for the treatment and understand the mechanism and effect of traditional Chinese medicine on rate constipation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document